X10 Firecracker Wireless Control Device

X10 Firecracker Wireless Control Device
Posted :: May 14, 2004 by Impact

Up on the review bench today we have the X10 Firecracker system.
Link: http://www.x10.com/automation/firecracker.htm

The idea behind firecracker is to be able to plug in anything to your computer that normally requires a wall switch to be turned on or off. The device can then be turned on from your computer or the provided remote. After the first glance, I was left wondering what else it could be used for besides lamps. I decided to take it for a spin.

The product was shipped to me in a box covered with blue and white clouds, an X10 logo, and a very happy looking sun in the corner. The box didn't seem overly exciting, but let's not judge a product by its box (like a book by its cover).

However, I was in dire need of an Unreal Tournement gaming session, so priority set in and it wasn't till a couple hours later that I returned and began opening the box. Inside I found a pretty cool device. The box contained: instructions (not pictured), a remote (far right), two wall adapters, and a goofy looking black connector.

I read the instructions, and began setting up the system. Step 1: Turn on the lamp the Firecracker would eventually be responsible for switching on or off. Step 2: Plug the lamp into the wall adapter with the antennea, and then plug the adapter into the wall.

Easy enough thus far...
Step 3: Grab 4 AAA batteries to power the remote, put them in, and voila. The system was set up.

When I hit the "On" button next to #1 on the remote, my lights turn on, and when I hit the "Off" button, guess what happens? They turn off, imagine that! The other wall adapter was still sitting here doing nothing, and we don't really have lamps in this house, all we have is overhead lighting. It is nearly identical to the first adapter, so I imagine it would work the same. There are knobs that can move with a screwdriver on each of the adapters (only one on the main wall adapter). These knobs go from A-P (one knob), and 1-16 (2nd knob). The way they are described in the instructions is: Each letter is a different channel (selectable on the remote), and each # is a different piece of equipment on that channel. This gives a grand total of 304 devices, 16 different pieces of equipment on each channel, on each of A-P(19) different channels. Unfortunately, a wall adapter is needed for each piece of equipment, and this kit only came with two (and extras are fairly expensive).
The 2nd wall adapter:

This was just half of the functionality of Firecracker. The other half was to be able to control each of these devices from my computer. That little black box that came with the Firecracker was a Serial Port adapter. One side of it plugs into your serial port, and the other side is another serial port (so you don't lose one by hooking up the firecracker, how thoughtful).

The instruction manual said that I would be able to download the interface software at: http://www.x10.com/FireCracker.htm. The download was quick and painless, and the install went through easily. After installing the software, I booted up the FireCracker program.

The firecracker program worked just like the remote did, at the click of a button the lights turn on/off. Different labels can be renamed by double clicking.

Conclusion: The program seemed to crash quite a bit. I don't know why it did this, but if I clicked in the wrong places it just died (must ctrl-alt-del out of it). Other then the program crashing, the only other thing I had a problem with was the fairly loud clicking noise the adapter makes when you turn something on/off. Besides those two cons, the firecracker kit works just as described. I would have liked the product more if I had more lamps to run off of it (maybe sometime I'll have to try christmas lights). The kit could be useful to you if you have lots of lamps, or other electronics that you want to be able to control remotely. While it has its definate uses it also comes with its definate price tag of $39.99.

Functionality :: 8/10
Ease of Use :: 10/10
Ease of Setup :: 10/10
Price :: 2/10
Overall :: 6.5/10
I gave it a 6.5 out of 10 mostly due to the price. If you happen to see a good deal on this product (X10 ran a special on it when I grabbed one) it would be worth it. But at the regular price, I don't think it is "worth it".